Mid-Year Review of 2016 Retail Banking Trends and PredictionsThe Financial Brand
Wondering how Financial Brand columnist Jim Marous’ top 10 retail banking predictions for 2016 are panning out so far? Check out this review, which includes reference to several studies and reports released this year. Find out the latest on “optichannel” delivery, fintech partnerships and the customer journey.

Visa Is Making New Merchant-Friendly EMV MovesPYMNTS
Visa has announced a series of initiatives designed to simplify and accelerate the path to certification – and blunt the impact of up to 15 percent of chargeback volume for the next 20 months in order to give the ecosystem time to catch up. [Editor’s note: MasterCard is matching these efforts for their clients.]

Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi Creating Its Own Digital CurrencyFinextra
Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ is working on plans to create its own digital currency. A limited release of the virtual coin is penciled in for early 2017. New ATM machines that will enable withdrawal of MUFG coins onto smartphones or convert the virtual currency into cash may be available as early as 2018.

Android Pay Is Tops, Says New U.S. SurveyNFC World
Android Pay tops the list of the most popular mobile payment services used by U.S. consumers, according to research from Walker Sands. Some 19 percent of respondents say they have made an in-store payment via the service.

Why the Bangladesh-SWIFT Hack Is SignificantPayments Journal
The international payments network SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) was the focus of a heist that caused a reported $81 million theft from the central bank of Bangladesh. As this incident continues to unfold, financial institutions have an opportunity to review best practices, decipher what might have happened, and understand how to think about this event in a broader context.